Tragic Feathers
by ChocolateIsMyDoom
Summary: "After all, hadn't Percy of the Seas been a loose end all the time?" "...could have been the leader of the Shells, had retreated into a corner, and Jason, the Eagle leader, had taken the place." "Annabeth smiles at him, "I'm glad you see reason, Jason," she plants a kiss on his cheek." A love triangle, but not really. AU Jason/Percy/Annabeth


**Hi! I'm back after such a long time. This story is kind of a love triangle, but not really. I hope you like it and enjoy!**

* * *

It feels strange not to have a sword in his hand.

Jason recognizes this with sadness. Bows are so much harder to manage. Ugh, if swords were just better in long distance combat…

But he just sighs and continues moving quietly because, after all, stealth is necessary.

The leaves brush his skin, and the branches hurt his bare feet, but he continues, silent, prepared and with his eye on the prize.

There she is, sitting on a flat, smooth, beautiful grey rock, her choppy brown hair perfectly brushed, her kaleidoscope eyes focused on the water of the lake before her, her clothes decorated with owl feathers.

_Owl_ feathers.

He spits in disgust. Such a beautiful soul, such a smart princess…lost to the owls. Her beauty too amazing to be shared, Jason is here to kill her.

Because, even though she used to be the princess of the Doves, on his side, right now, she flew away as an owl, searching for the other camp, the enemy.

Jason will never understand what she was thinking. They were to be married, they were to be happy and unite eagles with doves, but no, she escaped the night of their wedding, fleeing into enemy camp.

He grabs his bow and aims, eyes set on the girl.

"Run!" comes a voice, desperate, howling, loving, caring, and sad, "Run, Piper, run!"

Jason recognizes the voice.

He shoots with the bow, but Piper, warned and trusting the obviously not-to-be-trusted voice, runs away from the rock, and the arrow sails past her without even touching her skin.

And then she dives into the water and swims towards her camp.

Jason knows that, once she's in the water, no one will be able to touch her. He knows it because the voice protected her.

Ah, the voice. Percy of the Seas.

And then Jason's running, running, desperate, and he can feel his cousin run in front of him, terrified, but not a coward, so he doesn't jump into the lake.

At least he still has honor, Jason thinks with disgust. Warning a traitor.

But Percy trips and falls, and Jason of the Eagles, blond hair shining with the light of day, is standing over him, his bow pointed at his chest.

"Why?" he asks, enraged "I had her at aim! I would have killed her surely!"

Percy, ashamed, drops his eyes to the ground, "I'm not a traitor, cousin, but I'm not a killer."

"What do you mean?" Jason asks, completely furious "You've killed Owls before!"

"Piper was my friend!" he yells "And I know it hurt you that she left you for Leo of the Fires, in the Owl camp, but she didn't deserve to die,"

A path clears in Jason's head, and he sees Piper, beautiful, smiling, charming Piper, looking at him with affection "Are we to be married? Well, what a delight!"

The princess of the Doves had been ecstatic to know…until they had captured Leo of the Fires.

The Owl had been charming with her, seducing her, making her laugh, making and giving her gifts, and she had melted. She had never been the same, never smiled at Jason, and when Leo escaped from his cage, Piper had been euphoric.

It hurt Jason. Hurt him so deeply it was like he had had his heart ripped out of his chest.

"It doesn't matter," he mutters, "You deserve death by treason,"

And then Percy of the Seas is himself again, sarcastic, brave, and honorable, "If I have to die to save a life, I shall gladly do it,"

He stands up and gives his hands to Jason, who ties them with his rope, and he practically tears away the shell on his vest. He's ashamed to be wearing a shell himself, after what he has seen. Owls and shells have never worked together. A Shell had never betrayed their camp to save a life.

And the Sea King's favorite son, no less.

Jason shakes his head as he carries Percy, growling if he accidentally touches him. He feels ashamed to be a shell after this, but the King will put his son straight.

After all, hadn't Percy of the Seas been a loose end all the time?

He had been the only one who hesitated to kill, who buried the people he did kill, who put their names in their graves, who trained with a magic sword instead of the normal ones. He had been the only one to rebel against direct orders, so much that Percy, who could have been the leader of the Shells, had retreated into a corner, and Jason, the Eagle leader, had taken the place.

He walked through the forest, angry at Percy and himself, wanting to end his hurt and Percy's betrayal. The son of the Sea King hummed a tune as he walked, without shame.

Suddenly, a voice he knew well shouted "For the Owls!"

And dozens of girls appeared from every corner of the forest.

There were the Fire girls, the Sun girls, the authentic Owl girls, the traitors Dove girls, the Moon girls, the Hearth girls, the Death girls and the Wine girls, all ready to fight.

He saw Piper, all wet, handling a knife, fury in her eyes. He saw a girl with curly brown hair and golden eyes with a weird sword, who was actually quite small. He also saw a beautiful black haired, blue eyed moon girl.

Thalia. His traitor sister, now a moon, first an eagle.

He roared, "For the Eagles!" and dropped Percy.

The Sea traitor fell to the ground and cried out. Piper, putting her knife in her belt, immediately ran to him, worry in her ever-changing eyes, and caressed his cheek as she whispered to him.

The Eagle fought bravely, slashing and blocking, and most girls fell, wounded or dead, to the ground, but a few of them stood and battled him with ease. A black haired girl with regal movements, the curly haired girl with a strange sword, a blond menace, his own sister, with tears in her eyes but fierce with her bow, and a beautiful girl with blue eyes and brown hair who looked like a Dove traitor.

Jason fought like ten men, but there were more than thirty of the girls, and he was soon controlled.

A girl, more like a woman, of about seventeen, with blonde curly hair (she had been the blond demon) and grey stormy eyes stared down at Jason, tall and proud, and said "If it isn't the Shell leader. Good work Piper, nice ritual to win our trust. We shall kill these Shells and bring their bodies to the Sea King."

"Kill them?" squeaked Piper. She looked nervous. "Shouldn't we interrogate Jason and keep Percy as an owl?"

The girls gasped, all except a moon girl who stepped forward and Thalia. "We can accept Percy Jackson, " they said with clear voices.

"Zoë! Thalia!" shouted the blond Owl "From everyone but you I'd have thought normal, but you two…"

"We were with him at the Shells before we knew better, and yet, though the Sea Prince didn't know better –"

"Sea Prince?" the blond girl gasped

" –He was the only Shell with some kind of decency. Maybe Jason would have, too, been one of them, but his actions today speak louder than our memories,"

They retreated to the group of moon girls, and the blond girl looked at Piper, "I'm thinking about keeping the Eagle leader alive, Piper, but I don't see why,"

"I do," said nervously the curly haired girl "He's very valuable to us. Who knows what secrets he has?"

The blond girl looked at Jason, and he felt intimidated, weak, helpless…exactly as he was.

She said, "Okay. We'll keep him alive and locked up, and we'll have the 'Sea Prince' in observation," she turned to Percy "Do you _want _to be and Owl, boy?"

Percy stood up with Piper's help, "Yes. It's all I've ever wanted since Thalia escaped."

Jason had to watch as his own sister threw herself into his cousins arms, crying and laughing, saying stuff to him that he couldn't hear because his ears were full of the sound of his heartbeat.

He growled, "I'll never betray my people!"

The blond girl smirked "We'll see about that,"

…

She is called, as he learns, Annabeth.

The curly haired is Hazel, and had saved his life, and Jason feels like he owed her, even though she is a Death, even worse than a pure Owl. He thinks of Poseidon, his uncle, of Hera, his adoptive mother, leader of the Childs, of Aphrodite the Beautiful, leader of the Doves; of Ares, fierce leader of the Warriors, and of Persephone and Demeter, mother and daughter, leaders of the Plants and the Flowers. He curses, thinking of who he would betray if he tells one, little secret.

He grits his teeth and shakes his head as Annabeth slaps him.

"Talk!" she roars, "What are they planning?"

"Annabeth, are you okay?" a voice asks.

"Luke!" Jason growls, sweat dripping from his brow "Oh, one more traitor, is it?"

The blond, blue eyed, man looks at him with disgust, "I knew he'd be captured. Thinks he's brave, but in reality, such an emotional guy, too sweet for a girl like Piper. Do you want to know what she does with Leo –?"

Jason screams at the tops of his lungs, gets up from his chair throws himself against the old Messenger, now an Owl. He starts fighting him and Annabeth starts shouting and peels Jason off Luke with rage in her eyes.

"Don't ever –and I mean, ever –touch Luke that again. If I hear you even brushed his skin, I will find your friend _Reyna_, one of mines, and she will be the one whipping you."

Jason's blood freezes. Reyna, one of their own, is now an Owl. The realization, the powerful, strong girl she liked, an Owl.

He falls back from the shock, and Annabeth smirks.

"Are you okay, Luke?" Annabeth whispers with concern.

The boy nods "Yeah, Annabeth, I'm fine," and, looking at Jason, he kisses her in the mouth, before he leaves.

…

Percy looks gorgeous, Annabeth thinks, and then her eyes widen and she looks away, blushing.

The recently joined Owl is wearing pants and a t-shirt with tiny owl feathers that make his tanned skin stand out from the silver. His hair is wild and messy, and his green eyes look at Piper with a smile in his face.

"Does this look good? Or did I put too much feathers?"

Piper laughs out loud, and Annabeth thinks she's never seen this happy since she found out Leo liked her too. She must have been feeling like such an outcast, Annabeth thinks with worry. She likes Piper, and she's proven to be completely trustworthy.

Luke looks at her and says "What a show-off is this Percy. Completely used to being a prince,"

She looks at her boyfriend with a smile "I'm pretty sure he doesn't know he's showing off. He seems to think he's a pile of rubble, don't you think? Sure, he can get cocky, but he's usually always humble. And I think he's just a goofball,"

Luke looks at her with annoyance "Well, as long as you're still my Smart Feather, I'm okay," he says finally, and then they hear Percy "Annabeth! I've got it! The perfect name for you: Wise Girl!"

Piper laughs and says "It's perfect!"

And even though Luke glares and whispers 'Smart Feather', Annabeth' s heart flutters.

…

Jason is almost beaten when Annabeth enters the room, and she says, real quiet "You know why we've been hurting you?"

Jason doesn't answer.

"Because I love my family," is the surprising answer, something Jason doesn't believe at all. "This people, the Fires, the Owls, the Suns, the Moons, the Hearths, the Deaths, the Wines and our new members, are my family. Athena hates Poseidon. Zeus went with his brother, and Hades came to us. My family is what I care for, Jason of the Eagles, and right now, you're more powerful than us," she looks pained to admit it, but she's not in denial, at least, "You'd have killed a Dove princess, who has joined with the Fires and created peace. It'd have been a disaster, and we didn't even think of putting protection on her." She looks frustrated "I love my family. I love Luke, I love Hazel, I love Thalia, I love Will, I love Reyna and I love…Percy." She sounds different when she says his name, more neutral. "And I need to know how to protect them."

"You kill, just like us!" he shouted, "My mother, Grace of the Eagles, murdered in cold blood by your mother!"

Annabeth looks away, "Yes, we kill, and yet, we are trying to stop this war, and Poseidon will not have it end. Jason of the Eagles, we need you to help us stop it."

"Never!" Jason cries out, and yet, something in his voice softens, because when he looks at soft, desperate, weak, fragile Annabeth, he just can't resist.

Stop, you stupid boy, he thinks, don't give any secrets.

Her sad grey eyes are the last thing out of the door of the cabin he lives in now.

…

It's been three weeks since Percy became and Owl, and today it's their first battle.

Annabeth is worried. Sometimes, hurting your old friends is harder than anything else, so when they're going to kill, she puts her hand on his arm.

He looks surprised at the touch, and Annabeth's skin burns. She has to swallow before she can speak "Percy, we need you strong –"

"I joined the Owls because you want to stop the war," he says firmly, "These people are my friends, and you seem sensible and smart, Annabeth, and I think we've become friends now. I couldn't hurt you as I can't hurt them. We take people alive and convince them that the end is the best thing to do with this war, and then we're smart, Annabeth,"

His words are firm. He's brave, he's smart, and he's not going to change his mind.

Annabeth stares at him in wonder, "Yes, yes, exactly that,"

Percy doesn't seem to notice and just nods before going in the forest.

Annabeth follows, her brother Malcolm close to her, and she feels like her skin is burning, like her heart is pounding, like she can't feel anything but Percy's touch, and when Luke kisses her good luck, she kind of doesn't enjoy it.

Luke must feel something, because he says "What's wrong?"

Annabeth looks away, fearing he can see the truth in her grey eyes "Nothing, Luke,"

…

When she brings him food, he practically devours it.

"Normally you bring me food every four days, what's changed?" he asks softly, because, somehow he can't bear to scream at her. Not after knowing she wants to stop the war.

Annabeth leans against the walls, and says "Percy and me thought you needed better treatment. Piper supported us all the way, and Hazel cooked you a bird Thalia caught,"

Jason nods and eats in wonder, realizing that he just might survive.

He thinks of Hercules, his brother, and he wonders what he'd have thought of this.

Of course, he'd have thought it stupid. Many people at the Shells didn't want to end the war. It looked like the Owls knew what they were doing.

Jason realizes that he does not hate the Owls anymore, he just wants it not to be Owls and Shells, but people and other people. He is at peace.

Annabeth smiles at him, "I'm glad you see reason, Jason," she plants a kiss on his cheek, and Jason forgives her for the slapping and kicking and screaming, knowing she wouldn't be alive if their roles would have been reversed.

….

It has been going on for a while.

More and more Eagles come to camp, desperate for the war to stop, willing to do anything to stop it, like betray their homes. The 'traitors' of the Dove welcome them, and Annabeth is not surprised when she sees Aphrodite cross their camp with a white flag.

"I think this war has gone on for too long," Aphrodite says, her beauty making her radiant, and of course, nobody says no.

Eventually, after two weeks of people coming and coming, they realize they have twice the strength of the Eagles.

They cheer, and that night they celebrate. Tables are ready with food, and the before Eagles, now Owls (some old hostages but most that willingly came on their own) feel safe and welcome, Annabeth can feel it.

She sits next to Malcolm, because lately she hasn't felt like being with Luke at all. She hasn't kissed him for days, and her mother, sweet, powerful, beautiful Athena, has asked her a thousand times to marry him or he (according to her) will get stolen from her.

Malcolm has been noticing too, and he looks at her with curiosity "Are you going to dump Luke? Not marry him after a year of being together?" he whispers.

Annabeth blushes, but she knows she can't hide the truth from her brother. She's not sure yet, though, so she says "I don't know,"

He just nods.

Annabeth sees Jason sit down next to Thalia, and the girl, with tears in her eyes, hug him tightly and with such affection that Annabeth's face has a smile on it.

"Are you friends with that Jason guy?" Malcolm asks, and his expression is cautious.

"Yes, why?" Annabeth answers carefully.

"A union between Shells and Owls would be wonderful, and since you're considering dumping Luke –"

"What?" Annabeth whispers "How can you say that?" she hisses "I'll do what I want, Malcolm,"

And she stands up and goes sit next to Silena and Piper, who welcome her without a question.

She catches Jason looking at her from the other side of the table, and she smiles and waves, happy that he's found his sister at last.

His smile is so big and honest Annabeth's delighted.

…

As Jason watches, Percy calls "Come here, Wise Girl! I need help with Silena,"

The daughter of Aphrodite laughs and kisses Percy's cheek playfully "You? The old Sea Prince needs help with me?"

Percy looks completely red and simply nods without saying anything.

To Jason's surprise, Annabeth shows up "I'm here. And stop calling me Wise Girl. What do you need?"

Percy tries to look cool and in control but fails "Silena here, just told me she has a crush on," he whispered something in her ear.

Silena of the Doves looks pink with embarrassment, but resigned.

Annabeth smirks when Percy pulls away, put Jason watches her put her arm delicately over Percy's shoulder, and then letting go as slow as possible, which makes him frown for, no reason at all.

"Okay, I'll help her. Obviously, Silena here did not get that Percy the Owl is as oblivious about this stuff as heck," she giggles and carries away Silena with her arm, looking back at Percy one last time as the guy just shakes his head and walks the other way to his cabin.

Jason thinks he sees Silena with Charlie of the Fires that afternoon.

…

"Luke, I have to let you go,"

Luke's blue eyes are sad and heartbroken "I know, Annabeth. Ever since the Wise Girl incident,"

Annabeth blinks in surprise "What?"

"Honestly?" Luke says "You could have ended it sooner. Your crush on Percy made you ignore me completely. You should have dumped me as soon as you realized you had feelings for him. I've wasted two weeks of my life."

He kisses her lips softly, hugs her, and walks away from the cabin without saying a word.

Annabeth just stares, completely shocked as the boy she thought his heart was breaking leaves without even complaining.

She touches her shoulder, where Percy touched her this morning and she reassures herself that yes, oh yes, she has done the right thing.

…

The news that Luke and Annabeth are no longer an item spread through the camp so fast it's like wildfire.

Jason is excited. He's finally realized he likes her, and he wants to ask her out. But first, they need to go to the Eagle camp to try and reason with Poseidon and Zeus.

Almost all of the Eagle camp has become the Owl camp, and since there are only about twenty people left, one person of every cabin is going to try to reason with the leaders of the camp.

Jason is the chosen Eagle, Annabeth the chosen Owl, Charlie the chosen Fire, Piper the chosen Dove, Will the Sun, Thalia the Moon, Amelia the Hearth, Hazel the Death (her brother Nico is away on a forest called Tartarus), Castor the Wine, Percy the Sea, Clarisse the War, Sarah the Child, Katie the Plant, Ulsa the Flower, and Luke the Messenger.

Together, the 15 of them will try and convince the 7 leaders left to join their camps and complete the joining of the Owls and Shells.

Jason is nervous. He doesn't really try to hide it. He fears the worst, he fears the best. What will happen when his father sees him? When uncle Poseidon spits on him? When Hercules looks down on his brother?

Percy looks nervous too, but when Jason asks, he just says "I'm hungry,"

Well, that's reassuring and meaningful.

He catches Annabeth walking staring at the ground, playing with her curls and asks if she's okay.

She looks up, grey eyes bright "Yes, just a bit terrified, you know. I've never seen the Eagle camp."

"You'd love it. We have a river and –"

"Yeah," she smiles "Percy's described it for me, thanks,"

He feels a stab of jealousy, but he tries to swallow it down.

He simply nods and says "Well, let's hope you get to see it as a second home."

…

Annabeth is sure Percy likes her.

Positive.

But…

He's just so amazing, how would he?

And she's left oh so many hints, he would have surely picked up on them…

Right?

She sighs and continues walking through the forest.

And then she sees it, the Camp.

"It's…" she start to say

"Beautiful," Percy finishes for her, and then he's putting one arm around her, "Let's see it, shall we?"

She shivers with delight at his touch, and he thinks Percy is smiling widely.

…

Zeus is defeated. Poseidon, the same.

Actually, they all look pretty beaten except Ares, who's rebellious as usual.

Their children have left them, there's only thirteen people left, mostly children that couldn't find the camp, and Aphrodite's gone already.

Demeter and Persephone give in immediately when Hazel says to Persephone what Hades has told her to tell his wife, and Ares just wants to be with Aphrodite.

Hermes sighs with defeat. In the end, they all agree: whatever Zeus and Poseidon want.

And now, it's time for Jason to turn their mind.

He talks about the brilliant, brave girls, he talks about the place, about the people, about his experience, about how everything is so beautiful there, and then retreats.

And the Percy is there, saying so simply that he's happy, that they accepted him like his father never would, and he found his mom there, waiting for him with a smile.

And Poseidon is finished.

Zeus hesitates for, at least, an hour, but then he gives in too.

It's too easy, Jason thinks, deliriously happy.

And he thinks, to hell with it, and kisses Annabeth in the mouth.

…

His lips are soft and hungry, like he's been waiting long to kiss her. His hands are all over her, and Annabeth is so shocked she doesn't move, just lets the boy explore her mouth as she can't do anything but _be_.

And she can see people getting the wrong impression: that they're in a relationship, that that's the reason she dumped poor Luke, that she fed him because she loved him. Everyone except Luke backs away, and Annabeth, not even turning her head, because she's to shocked to move, watches helplessly as Percy, hurt in his normally happy eyes, retreats from camp and goes to the wood.

It's like a switch when she sees Percy leave her. Suddenly she can move. She turns her head, breaking the kiss, and Jason stares at him with something like expectation.

And, for, probably, the first time in her life, she doesn't know what to say, and she's babbling and not forming complete sentences.

"I –Jason, I –I'm not –I don't –I think you're –" she shakes her head helplessly, tears in her eyes, and feels like a five year old when she runs away, after Percy, into the forest.

…

Jason looks at everyone.

All the people are staring, everyone is confused, no one knows what to do.

And then Zeus says, "Well? Shall we go to the Owl camp?"

Jason has never been more grateful for his father than that moment.

He's so, so, so, sad.

In fact, as Silena turns around to glance at him, he thinks he's completely depressed.

Because life has always been hard for him, but love issues? Completely and freakishly complicated.

First Reyna, who had a crush on Percy and didn't like him back.

Then Piper, who went away with Leo.

And now Annabeth, who ran away from him.

Jason puts his head in his hands and sobs.

…

She runs, leaves scratching her face, mud and blood mixed with tears. She runs, jumping and crouching and going on all fours.

She runs until she cannot remember where she's going.

And she cries, she's crying, she can't stop sobbing because she just feels so bad.

Not for herself, but for Jason.

What could be more embarrassing than kissing a girl in front of loads of people and then her rejecting him?

She knows what: that that girl runs away after that.

She should go –

The pain makes her cry out, and she falls on her face.

She screams and tries to lay down.

What's happened?

The pain is in her ankle, and she barely registers that she's tripped over a pretty big branch and fallen sideways.

Shit. She's got a sprained ankle.

Slowly, delicately, she tries to use her hands to stand straighter, at least, but pain, horrible, agony, shoots up from her leg, and she grits her teeth to stop herself from shouting.

Now she' done it. She can't even walk, how'll she get back to the camp?

With a frown, she tries to push one arm up (the one opposite her ankle).

It works. Only a bit of pain makes her squeak.

Gritting her teeth again, she pushes her head up, trying really hard to not move her left leg.

She cries out. She has moved it.

She quickly realizes she should do something. Quick. Nighttime is near, and the animals might hurt her.

With a lot of effort, she manages to grab her knife. She's gasping, breathing heavily, Jason and Percy and her mother and friends forgotten for now. Immediate pain is the only thing on her mind right now.

She grabs her shirt and, careful not to slice her stomach off as she's lying face down, cuts a huge part of her shirt.

She's breathing even heavier, and the breaths are quick and low. Her ankle is getting worse by the second.

She tries to remember why she cut her shirt, and fails. It's all so blurry.

She crawls as much as she can, and when the agony makes her cry out, she keeps crawling until she grabs a long branch that is thick and strong.

With the branch's support, she gets up and only screams once.

She puts her elbow on the branch and gasps.

Finally up.

She's sweating like she's never done exercise before, and when she looks at her ankle she gasps.

It's completely swollen.

"It's okay," she says out loud, but she doesn't really believe it.

"I's going to be okay," she lies to nobody, Percy's hurt expression appearing in her mind.

…

Jason drops to his bed and lies down.

It's done.

The war's over.

He's seen his brother, he's laughed with everyone, and now everyone wears the same feather: a robin feather.

Every single person tried to offer him comfort for Annabeth's running away scene, and they don't really have the heart to try and go find her.

He doesn't find Percy there either, and they _do_ organize a search party for him.

He's lying on his bed, thinking if he should just kill himself, when he hears a knock at the door.

"Come in,"

He sees Piper coming in and thinks he's hallucinating.

The sixteen year old is with Leo, and they're both holding hands.

"Hi, Jason," Leo says, and Jason is reconsidering killing himself.

…

Hungry…

So hungry…

She tries to walk once more and fails.

She almost falls to the ground, but her foot holds her up and she cries out again.

"Annabeth?" comes a voice. A voice she knows well.

Percy of the Seas appear in between the trees, his hair messy, his left leg covered in blood.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asks, her voice filled with worry.

Percy looks nervous "I could ask you the same thing," he says, looking at her.

"Jason and I aren't going to get married. He, judging by what happened, liked me. But I never liked him. I like you," she blurts, then puts her hand on her mouth, causing her to fall.

She cries out and Percy catches her in mid-air.

"Thanks," she whispers, feeling ten times weaker than she usually is.

Percy smiles a little, and then his lips are on hers.

It0's such a different experience from when Jason kissed her.

His lips aren't hungry, they are patient and grateful and overjoyed. His hands aren't all over her, they are holding her steady, holding her up, and the biggest difference is that Annabeth responds to the kiss. Her body moves before she can think. Her right hand is in his hair and she moves her mouth at his lead. She makes herself, for once, be led instead of leading.

She savours his kiss and his touch, and then he kisses her skin, her neck, and his hand is caressing her cheek and he's smiling almost shyly.

"I'm kind of new to this," he says, "Did I do it right?"

Annabeth responds by kissing him again.

She pulls away when she has no breath, "Great,"

…

Jason thinks he's having the most horrible night of his life.

Leo is explaining why he loves Piper, and Piper is smiling timidly and saying why she left camp for Leo.

He thinks he'd rather fight all the Warriors than hearing this.

"Please stop," he says at last "I get it. I'm over you, Piper, you don't need to do this to me, thank you. I liked another girl, and she rejected me too. I guess you're right: maybe I am too honorable for them; maybe not enough the rebel."

Piper turns pink "But you're amazing! You're the most sensible guy I've ever met!"

Jason smiles sadly, "Please leave,"

And, to his surprise, they do.

Jason closes his eyes, and he falls asleep, tears running down his cheeks.

…

Percy scoops her up in his arms, and Annabeth groans "I feel like we're on a sexist scene in a campfire story," she says.

Percy laughs "The broken ankle kind of ruins the mood, doesn't it?"

He looks so happy and overjoyed, and yet, there's something about him…

"Percy, how's your leg?"

Percy seems surprised, but then he becomes calm again "It's animal blood, don't worry,"

Annabeth smiles and holds on tightly to Percy, whispering that she loves him, that she should have realized it sooner, and she's still doing it when rain makes their faces cold and wet. She laughs when Percy doesn't get wet.

"How?" she asks.

"Perks of being a Sea, miss Owl,"

They walk for a long time (actually, he's the only one walking, but that doesn't really matter,) and Annabeth feels like Percy is getting weaker and weaker.

"Do you want to rest?"

"No!" his answer is so sudden and full of alarm Annabeth recoils.

His face is pleading "Please let me at least get you there,"

And then the pieces fall in place, but before Annabeth can cry and scream and curse the world, Percy jumps into the lake, Annabeth in her arms, and she can't talk because, even though there's a convenient bubble around them, Percy's muted her.

_No!_ she wants to scream _Why?_

…

Jason wakes up to the sound of screaming.

More specifically, to the sound of Annabeth screaming.

"NO! No! No! No!" She's crying, and he can hear the sobs.

He's out of his cabin in record time, because nothing and nobody can stop him from helping Annabeth.

She's standing in the middle of camp, her arms around a boy who's barely moving, and everyone is around them, concerned.

"This was not the way I planned it to be," she says, to the boy.

And then Jason realizes it's Percy.

His body reacts: his cousin is in danger.

He's running faster than he could ever imagine, and then he's watching as his cousin is paling by the second, the wound in his leg completely green, he sees Thalia crying, Silena with her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with horror.

And he realizes Percy is going to die.

"No!" he cries and Annabeth cries with him.

"NOO!"

…

Annabeth leans down and kisses the dying boy in her arms.

The scorpion poison has already paralyzed his legs and waist, and she can _feel_ that his torso is fighting, that it doesn't want it to reach the heart, so she tries to make their last seconds worth it.

She kisses him like she thought she would never kiss a man until they were married.

And, surprisingly, Percy's moving his mouth weakly with her, their tongues fighting, her hand on his head, her other arm ripping his shirt apart, and the pain in her ankle is now long gone.

She barely registers Jason besides her, crying and touching Percy just as she was a second ago, and she closes her eyes and devotes herself to Percy.

_Take one more memory from me before you go_, she thinks, and then, with bitter humor, she thinks, _You already took everything else_.

And when she feels Percy eager mouth start to stop, she whispers into his mouth.

"I love you,"

He's dead two seconds after.

…

Annabeth of the Owls walks slowly.

Because, after all, why should she hurry? He's not going to run away.

Jason walks with her, and he takes her hand. Annabeth squeezes once before letting hers slip away from his fingers.

Annabeth's twenty nine, but she looks so much older.

Her blond hair is never brushed, and it reached her waist before someone remembered to cut it.

Her grey eyes, before so sparkling and beautiful, have faded.

She looks like a mourning widow.

And as they reach the grave of the man they both loved, one for a cousin, the other for a lover, not a single tear falls. They've done this before.

"Hello, Percy," Annabeth's voice is softer than ever. "Jason and I wanted to say hi,"

And they do, like every year. It's normal for them. Jason used to be in love with her, but the way she made love to him before he died shut those feelings down immediately.

Piper smiles at them as they reach her house, her six kids laughing when they reach the door.

"Hi again." She says, "I kept Perseus as calm as I could."

A (recent) teen appears at the door. He looks calm, hands in pockets, and smiles at them.

His grey eyes have the same beauty those of her mother's used to have, his black hair is as messy as her fathers.

"Hi mom. Hi uncle Jason," he says.

Annabeth smiles.

Percy of the Seas all over again.

* * *

**Wow! I was stuck with this story for so long. I wanted to do a Percy/Annabeth/Jason that ended in tragedy since forever, and the camp war had been in my mind for a while now. I hope you liked it!**

**Review!**

**-ChocolateIsMyDoom**


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